Social Security rejects marriage papers

Weddings for gay couples create problem

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NEW PALTZ, N.Y. — The Social Security Administration is rejecting marriage documents issued for heterosexual couples in four communities that performed weddings for gay couples earlier this year.

The agency is rejecting all marriage certificates issued in New Paltz, N.Y., after Feb. 27, when the town’s mayor began marrying gay couples, according to town officials.

Certificates issued during the brief periods when Asbury Park, N.J., Multnomah County, Ore., and Sandoval County, N.M., recognized gay marriages are also being rejected.

Susie Kilpatrick, 30, of New Paltz, said the local Social Security office told her that no marriage documents issued after Feb. 27 could be used to establish identity because of the gay marriages that took place there earlier this year. About 125 heterosexual couples have been married since then.

Kilpatrick said her marriage certificate was rejected when she went to get a new card earlier this month so she could take her husband’s name.

“What concerns me is that the certificate is the only way to prove that we’re married,” she told The New York Times for Sunday editions. “If something happens to us, or some other couple from New Paltz, we can’t prove we’re married. We would not be able to draw benefits.”

The agency did not respond to repeated requests from the Times for comment. A call from The Associated Press for comment on Sunday was not immediately returned.

The agency posts rules on its Web site spelling out which documents can be used to obtain Social Security cards.

It accepts civil-union documents from Vermont and marriage licenses for gay couples in Massachusetts. Marriage certificates for gay couples from San Francisco are not allowed, but those for heterosexual couples from the city are being recognized.

The Web site said the legality of marriage documents in the other localities, including New Paltz, is “still unresolved at the state level.”

New York state officials, including Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Gov. George Pataki, have said same-sex ceremonies violate state law. Several lawsuits challenging the law are pending, and New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, is widely expected to make the ultimate decision on the legality of gay marriage in the state.

Residents in New Paltz are confused why Social Security officials are targeting heterosexual marriage licenses from their town.

Dan Wilen, New Paltz’s town supervisor, said the agency never contacted town officials to inform them that the certificates would not be recognized. He called the policy unfair.

“They’re delving into every aspect of our lives, including marriage,” he said. “I’m appalled.”